Friday, April 30, 2010

Thank you, Jonathan, for loving me and choosing me.Thank you for being an irreplacable father.Thank you for working so hard and sacrificing so much to support our family.Thank you for always thinking of us first.Thank you for being the kind of man I want our son to grow up to be like.Thank you for being strong in your faith and sharing it with me and the kids.Thank you for rushing home to us each week. We know you hate being away.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Charlie had his Spring Concert at school last Friday. One has got to love grade school music concerts!

I say this post is for the Grandparents, because, I know that they are probably the only people, other than me and Jonathan, that will be totally thrilled with the following videos and watch them over and over. =)

The theme of the concert was, "Around the World". The kindergarteners sang a song about Austria, Brazil and Canada.

So, if you are so inclined, enjoy!

BTW - Charlie is in the middle row with a purple and green vest and green shirt (his Easter Outfit)

Thursday, April 22, 2010

After much pondering about what to get Anna for her 2nd birthday, her Daddy decided that our princess needed a throne.Upon presenting it to her, she crawled right over to it to claim it as her own. After a failed attempt......She quickly mastered getting into the chair.And, as you can see, she loves it! Here she is, enjoying some Baby Signing Time.Charlie and Paige like Anna's chair as well. Paige has asked for a pink one for her upcoming birthday. Charlie thinks we all need one so we can pretend we are the Jedi Council =)BTW - Anna's Jedi nickname is Anna Yoda Soda. Her Sith name is Count DooDoo. If you have a Star Wars fan at home, you will laugh at that joke =)

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Anna has finally learned how to crawl on her hands and knees! Won't her PT be thrilled =)

Great developmentally, but bad for the cleanliness (ha!) of my house. When she used to army crawl, I could always hear her feet flopping on the floor as she moved. Now she has this new, stealth-like crawl, which allows her to move about undetected.

I have to keep a close(r) eye on her now. If you leave the door to the laundry room open, she is through it, out the garage and then into the driveway...Aaack!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

I can hardly believe it has been 2 years. There are times when it seems like it has been 20, but most of them time it feels like only 2 months.

Anna has come so far this past year (and so have I!). I remember it was about this time last year that I was fretting over all the things that she wasn't doing yet, and that it seemed like Anna was stuck in a rut of non-progress. And, I am sure if I stopped to think about what a typical 2-year old should be doing, that I could continue to fret. But, I am getting enough gray hairs, I don't need the added stress. =) Besides, Anna is continuing to show us forward progress. Albeit slow progress, it is still progress. So, I am (slowly) learning to just enjoy those milestones as opposed to worrying about when those milestones are happening. =)

Here is a list (an incomplete list) of some of the amazing things that Anna Banana has learned to do over the last year: - Babble - Wave - Signs (lots of signs...more, all done, bath, dog, music, daddy, yes, shoes, socks, up, go, eat, drink, please...I am sure there are others that I am not thinking of right now) - Army crawl - and now starting to crawl on hands and knees - Sit up on her own - Pull to Standing - Cruise along the furniture - Feed herself w/ fingers - and starting to use a spoon - Drink from a straw cup - Put coins in the piggy bank, and shapes in the shape sorter - Hug and Kiss and Feed her baby doll - Do the motions to "If You're Happy and You Know It" - Completely destroy a room in 10 seconds (I so do not love this skill, but appreciate her curiosity and playful spirit) - Melt hearts and show the beauty of God's Love (oh, wait! She already knew that one!)Happy 2nd Birthday, Sweet Girl!! We love you!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Meet Lev (4 yrs.)and his sister Eliava (just turned 2!)Funny how we met...I was at the grocery store one day, and as I was standing there contemplating which cheese to buy, this little boy wanders over to me and grabs my hand. I looked down, and there was this adorable little boy with Down syndrome. So, I walk him back over to his mother (Florence - sorry, I don't have a picture) and she begins apologizing for him, etc. Nonsense, I tell her. That little boy knew what he was doing. I have a little girl with Down syndrome.

But how could he have known that? I was there without any kids (Probably the one and only time I have ever been to the grocery store without any kids, mind you).

He just knew. God was putting us together because he knew we would be friends.

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Anna Banana Pants

Anna Banana Pants is our third child who has a little something extra...an extra 21st chromosome. Having a child with Down syndrome is not the life sentence that many believe it to be. In fact, it is the probably the greatest blessing we have received as a family. This blog is about Anna, and our everyday family life.